Natural & Applied Sciences

Natural & Applied Sciences Research Papers/Topics

Nutritional Composition and Sensory Evaluation of Biscuits Fortified with Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and Cricket Powder (Acheta domesticus) for Improved Food Security

Abstract/Overview This study aimed at generating knowledge on the nutritional composition and sensory evaluation of biscuits fortified with sorghum flour and cricket powder. Four biscuits samples were formulated by substituting wheat flour with sorghum flour and cricket powder at 0, 20, 40, and 60%. The results showed that, the fortification improved some nutrient contents of biscuits significantly (p

Analysis of an Arterial Pulse Using 1D KdV Model

Abstract/Overview In this study we developed a soliton model of an arterial pulse. The Korteweg-de Vries wave equation is our model of interest. It incorporates the aspect of modeling an arterial pulse which can potentially lead to development of better estimators of cardiac output. Accurate and continuous measurements of cardiac output are needed for severely ill COVID-19 patients but are often done using invasive methods. Another clinical importance is that the solitonic parameters infe...

Socioeconomic Factors Influencing the Consumption Of Lake Flies Within The Lake Victoria Region

Abstract/Overview The motivation of consuming edible insects, particularly lake flies, has the potential of improving the problem that results from the inability to sustainably meet the rising demand for animal-based protein as a result of increased population growth and urbanization. The aim of this study was to identify the selected socio-economic factors influencing consumption of lake flies and how they individually and collectively affect the consumption. A sample size of 385 respond...

Contribution of Indigenous Innovations for Mitigating Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith) among Maize Farmers for Improved Food Security

Abstract/Overview Fall armyworm (FAW) is a new invasive pest that causes economic damage to a wide variety of crops. This pest is estimated to reduce maize yields by about 60%. FAW could cause crop losses of up to US$13 billion annually across sub- Saharan Africa, threatening the livelihoods of millions of resource-poor farmers worldwide. Governments have warned against the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides that could undermine pest control strategies for smallholder farmers who r...

Consumer Religiosity and Its Influence on Their Uptake and Consumption of Edible Insects among Selected Communities in Western Kenya

Abstract/Overview Global food demand is expected to rise due to the population increase estimated to reach 9.5 billion by the year 2050. As a result, the available natural resources such as water sources and land will become scarce and overused. Indisputably, other sustainable food resources need to be identified and practised to solve the problem of food inadequacy. The world population will be encouraged to eat less consumed food resources. Edible insects have been identified as sustain...

Effective Management of Internet Usage at the Workplace

Abstract The internet has become a basic requirement in the management of organizations today. If an organization wants to remain relevant at this time and age and retain its competitive edge it has to adopt the usage of the internet. One can hardly imagine a successful enterprise operating without an effective website, for its production, marketing, communication and other business operations. In as much as the internet is a good thing to the management of organizations operations, it has i...

Woody Species Composition, Stand Structure and Regeneration Status of Londiani Forest in Kenya

Abstract first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Woody Species Composition, Stand Structure and Regeneration Status of Londiani Forest in Kenya by Evalyne Kosgey Chepkoech 1,*,Humphrey Agevi 1,2ORCID,Henry Lung’ayia 1 andHarrison Mugatsia Tsingalia 1 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), Kakamega P.O. Box 190-50100, Kenya 2 Institute of Indigenous Knowledge, Cultural Studies and Climate Change, Masinde Muliro U...

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Doum Palm (Hyphaene compressa) Using Genotyping by Sequencing

Abstract Doum palm (Hyphaene compressa) is a perennial economic plant primarily growing in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). It is heavily relied upon for food, animal feed, construction materials and medicine, making it an ideal plant for resource sustainability. However, the limited information on its genetic resources has hindered its breeding and conservation studies. This study used the genotyping by sequencing approach to identify Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms. These SNPs w...

Small Farm Holder Cropping Systems Influence Microbial Profiles in an Equatorial Rainforest Agroecosystem

Abstract The metabarcoding of prokaryotic and fungal (Ascomycota only) ribosomal DNA was used to describe the microbial communities in soils of a remnant equatorial rainforest, maize–bean intercrop, and sugarcane in western Kenya. Cropping systems influenced the microbial community composition and functional traits (energy source and nutrient cycling) of bulk soil in each crop. Microbial richness and diversity tended to increase with cultivation intensity. The soil of the maize–bean inte...

PHYTOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS FOUND IN KAPTUMO DIVISION IN NANDI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract Medicinal plants are widely used by the traditional healers to prevent or treat various human diseases since time immemorial due to the chemical substances found in them. The phytochemical constituents of most of these plants has not been determined hence the present study conducted at Kaptumo Division in Nandi County seeks to profile the phytochemicals found in medicinal plants namely: Kigelia africana (Lam.) and Benth, Ekebergia capensis Sparrm and Fagaropsis angolensis (Engl.) Da...

Risk of Fungi Associated with Aflatoxin and Fumonisin in Medicinal Herbal Products in the Kenyan Market

Abstract Utilization of herbal products is a major concern due to the possibility of contamination by toxigenic fungi that are mycotoxin producers such as Aspergillus species during processing and packaging. Research was carried out to determine the presence of aflatoxins and fumonisins in herbal medicinal products sold in Eldoret and Mombasa towns in Kenya. The study employed both exploratory and laboratory experimental design. The herbal products were purchased from the market and transpor...

Assemblages and Subassemblages of Giardia duodenalis in Rural Western, Kenya: Association with Sources, Signs, and Symptoms

Abstract Background. Giardia duodenalis causes sporadic or epidemic infections in humans. The parasite comprises assemblages A-H with A and B subdivided further into AI-IV and BI-IV subassemblages. Attempts aimed at linking these genotypes with sources and gastrointestinal manifestations of the infection are largely unexplored in rural communities. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, G. duodenalis infection was genotyped and associated with sources, and gastrointestinal signs and symptom...

Application of the Vector Autoregressive Model Incorporating New Measurements Using the Bayesian Approach

Abstract In this paper, an application of the updated vector autoregresive model incorporating new information or measurements is considered. We consider secondary data obtained from the Kenya National Bureau of statistics, Statistical Abstract reports from 2000-2021 which is on monetary value marketed at current prices from crops, horticulture, livestock and related products, fisheries and forestry. A VAR(1) model is fitted to the data and then the model updated to incorporate the measureme...

Genetic variation in CSF2 (5q31.1) is associated with longitudinal susceptibility to pediatric malaria, severe malarial anemia, and all-cause mortality in a high-burden malaria and HIV region

Abstract Plasmodium falciparum infections remain among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in holoendemic transmission areas. Located within region 5q31.1, the colony-stimulating factor 2 gene (CSF2) encodes granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a hematopoietic growth factor that mediates host immune responses. Since the effect of CSF2 variation on malaria pathogenesis remains unreported, we investigated the impact of two genetic variants in the 5q31.1 gene r...

Comparison of the Performance of Logistic Regression Model in the Presence and Absence of Mediation

Abstract Over the last decade major global efforts mounted to address the HIV epidemic has realized notable successes in combating the pandemic. Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) still remains a global epicenter of the disease, accounting for more than 70% of the global burden of infections. Despite wide spread use of various intervention strategies that act as mediation factors in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention, HIV prevalence still remains a challenge especially in some geographic ar...


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